A-Trac Dynamic Brace Dog Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear (ACL) Ducky

Dr. Spatt,

We purchased the A-TraC Dynamic Brace in September 2011.  Our Springer spaniel, Ducky, now 2 1/2 years old, suffered an ACL tear in February of last year.  We weren’t convinced that the surgical track was the right one, so we attempted periods of rest.  After several attempts at short rest followed by activity, we finally “grounded” her for 10 weeks, meaning no activity at all; she was on the leash at all times, even in the house.  After that, we began taking her on short walks.  But once we got to 20 minutes of walking, on leash, she was toe-touching and showed a slight limp.  Still not convinced that surgery was the right option, I did some more research and found your site in a discussion forum (I’m sorry, I don’t remember which one).  We were impressed with your site and your willingness to answer questions.

It took a couple hours to get the A-TraC brace properly fitted on Ducky, and it took a couple days for her to get used to wearing it, but once she was used to it, we were in business.  We started with three short walks a day and then began building on that.  After just a month, we were up to 2 hours a day of on leash walking.  No sign of a limp or a toe touch.  We kept that up for another month and then began off leash periods of walking, which we then lengthened bit by bit.  Ducky now gets over 1 hour and 15 minutes of off leash trotting/running a day plus another 45 minutes of on leash walking.  And she’s doing great.  She is running flat out, leaping over logs on the beach and crashing through the underbrush in the forest.  She is one happy dog!

We put the A-Trac brace on in the morning and take it off about 10 p.m., after she’s settled down for the evening.  It’s now a breeze to put on and take off.  She’s used to it and is very cooperative.

The only issue we’ve had with the brace is that the bottom two velcro straps on the brace itself haven’t held up to active romps on the beach and in the forest.   They start to come undone.  But that was no problem.  We just cut the bottom out of a sock and slipped that on over the brace to protect it.  We also bought waterproof overalls for her to protect the brace in the heavy rain we get most of the winter here on the coast.

Thank you so much for creating this brace!  I am overjoyed to see Ducky running and being wild again.  I believe that the brace was instrumental in giving her body the time it needed to heal (build up the muscle and scar tissue to stabilize the joint) so we didn’t need to put her through surgery.

We have encountered dozens of people who have asked about Ducky’s brace, some of whom have dogs with ACL issues.  I always give them the name of your website and tell them how highly I recommend the brace.  One man whose dog has ACL tears in both legs specifically asked his vet if there was a brace his dog could wear, and his vet said, “No, that won’t work.”  No vet in our area has acknowledged that this brace could be helpful.  I’m so glad I ignored the “expert” advise our vet gave us and followed my intuition to find your site.  I hope that word gets out about your brace so more dogs can have the kind of great, pain-free, recovery Ducky has had.  I did a post about it on my site a couple months ago.

I have attached a couple photos of Ducky in her brace, on the beach.

Thank you again,

Ande Waggener